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NORTH KOREA ( listen ), officially the DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE\'S REPUBLIC
OF KOREA (DPRK listen ), is a country in
East Asia constituting the
northern part of the
Korean Peninsula .
Pyongyang is the nation's
capital and largest city. To the north and northwest the country is
bordered by
China and by
Russia along the
Amnok (known as the Yalu in
China ) and Tumen rivers; it is bordered to the south by South Korea
, with the heavily fortified
Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
separating the two. However, the territory is wholly claimed by the
Republic of
Korea according to the constitution.

In 1910,
Korea was annexed by the
Empire of Japan . After the
Japanese surrender at the end of
World War II in 1945,
Korea was
divided into two zones along the 38th parallel by the United States
and the
Soviet Union , with the north occupied by the Soviets and the
south by the Americans . Negotiations on reunification failed, and in
1948, separate governments were formed: the socialist Democratic
People's
Republic of
Korea in the north, and the capitalist Republic
of
Korea in the south. An invasion initiated by North
Korea led to the
Korean War (1950–1953). The
Korean Armistice Agreement brought about
a ceasefire, but no peace treaty was signed.

North
Korea officially describes itself as a self-reliant socialist
state and formally holds elections . Critics regard it as a
totalitarian dictatorship . Various media outlets have called it
Stalinist , particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality
around
Kim Il-sung and his family . International organizations have
assessed that human rights violations in North
Korea have no parallel
in the contemporary world. The Workers\' Party of
Korea (WPK), led
by a member of the ruling family, holds power in the state and leads
the
Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland of which
all political officers are required to be members.

_
Juche _, an ideology of national self-reliance, was introduced into
the constitution as a "creative application of
Marxism–Leninism "
in 1972. The means of production are owned by the state through
state-run enterprises and collectivized farms . Most services such as
healthcare, education, housing and food production are subsidized or
state-funded. From 1994 to 1998, North
Korea suffered a famine that
resulted in the deaths of between 240,000 and 420,000 people, and the
country continues to struggle with food production. North Korea
follows _
Songun _, or "military-first" policy. It is the country with
the highest number of military and paramilitary personnel , with a
total of 9,495,000 active, reserve, and paramilitary personnel. Its
active duty army of 1.21 million is the fourth largest in the world,
after China, the
United States , and
India . It possesses nuclear
weapons . North
Korea is an atheist state with no official religion
and where public religion is discouraged.

The name _Korea_ derives from the name _Goryeo_ (also spelled
_Koryŏ_). The name _Goryeo_ itself was first used by the ancient
kingdom of
Goguryeo (Koguryŏ) in the 5th century as a shortened form
of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of
Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo,
and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by visiting Persian
merchants as "Korea". The modern spelling of
Korea first appeared in
the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India
Company 's
Hendrick Hamel .

After the division of the country into North and South Korea, the two
sides used different terms to refer to Korea: _Chosun_ or _Joseon_
(조선) in North Korea, and _Hanguk_ (한국) in South Korea. In
1948, North
Korea adopted _Democratic People's
Republic of Korea_
(조선민주주의인민공화국/朝鮮民主主義人民共和國
_Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk_) as its new legal name. In the
wider world, because the government controlled the northern part of
the
Korean Peninsula , it is commonly called North
Korea to
distinguish it from South Korea, which is officially called the
_
Republic of Korea_.

Japan tried to suppress Korean traditions and culture and ran the
economy primarily for its own benefit. Korean resistance groups known
as
Dongnipgun (Liberation Army) operated along the Sino-Korean border,
fighting guerrilla warfare against Japanese forces. Some of them took
part in allied action in
China and parts of South East Asia. One of
the guerrilla leaders was the communist
Kim Il-sung , who later became
the first leader of North Korea.

SOVIET OCCUPATION AND DIVISION OF KOREA (1945–1950)

Main articles: Division of
Korea and History of North
Korea
Suspected communist sympathizers awaiting execution in May 1948 after
the
Jeju Uprising

At the end of
World War II in 1945, the
Korean Peninsula was divided
into two zones along the 38th parallel , with the northern half of the
peninsula occupied by the
Soviet Union and the southern half by the
United States . The drawing of the division was assigned to two
American officers,
Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel , who chose it
because it divided the country approximately in half but would place
the capital
Seoul under American control. No experts on
Korea were
consulted. Nevertheless, the division was immediately accepted by
the Soviet Union. The agreement was incorporated into the U.S.'s
General Order No. 1 for the surrender of Japan. Initial hopes for a
unified, independent
Korea had evaporated as the politics of the Cold
War resulted in the establishment of two separate states with
diametrically opposed political, economic, and social systems.

Soviet general
Terentii Shtykov recommended the establishment of the
Soviet Civil Authority in October 1945, and supported
Kim Il-sung as
chairman of the Provisional People\'s Committee for North
Korea ,
established in February 1946. During the provisional government,
Shtykov's chief accomplishment was a sweeping land reform program that
broke North Korea's stratified class system. Landlords and Japanese
collaborators fled to the South, where there was no land reform and
sporadic unrest. Shtykov nationalized key industries and led the
Soviet delegation to talks on the future of
Korea in Moscow and Seoul.
In September 1946, South Korean citizens rose up against the
Allied Military Government. In April 1948, an uprising of the Jeju
islanders was violently crushed. The South declared its statehood in
May 1948 and two months later the ardent anti-communist
Syngman Rhee
became its ruler. The Democratic People's
Republic of
Korea was
established in the North on 9 September 1948. Shtykov served as the
first Soviet ambassador, while
Kim Il-sung became premier.

Soviet forces withdrew from the North in 1948 and most American
forces withdrew from the South in 1949. Ambassador Shtykov suspected
Rhee was planning to invade the North, and was sympathetic to Kim's
goal of Korean unification under socialism. The two successfully
lobbied
Joseph Stalin to support a short blitzkrieg of the South,
which culminated in the outbreak of the Korean War.

The military of North
Korea invaded the South on 25 June 1950, and
swiftly overran most of the country. A
United Nations force , led by
the United States, intervened to defend the South, and rapidly
advanced into North Korea. As they neared the border with China,
Chinese forces intervened on behalf of North Korea, shifting the
balance of the war again. Fighting ended on 27 July 1953, with an
armistice that approximately restored the original boundaries between
North and South Korea. More than one million civilians and soldiers
were killed in the war. As a result of the war, almost every
substantial building in North
Korea was destroyed.

Some have referred to the conflict as a civil war, with other factors
involved. The
Korean War was the first armed confrontation of the
Cold War and set the standard for many later conflicts. It is often
viewed as an example of the proxy war , where the two superpowers
would fight in another country, forcing the people in that country to
suffer most of the destruction and death involved in a war between
such large nations. The superpowers avoided descending into an all-out
war against one another, as well as the mutual use of nuclear weapons
. It expanded the Cold War, which to that point had mostly been
concerned with Europe.

A heavily guarded demilitarized zone (DMZ) still divides the
peninsula, and an anti-communist and anti-North
Korea sentiment
remains in South Korea. Since the war, the
United States has
maintained a strong military presence in the South which is depicted
by the North Korean government as an imperialist occupation force.
And they claimed that the
Korean War was caused by the United States
and South Korea.

POST-WAR DEVELOPMENTS

A Korean People\'s Army soldier pointing to the Korean
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

The relative peace between the South and the North following the
armistice was interrupted by border skirmishes, celebrity abductions,
and assassination attempts. The North failed in several assassination
attempts on South Korean leaders, such as in 1968 , 1974 and the
Rangoon bombing in 1983; tunnels were found under the DMZ and war
nearly broke out over the axe murder incident at
Panmunjom in 1976.
For almost two decades after the war, the two states did not seek to
negotiate with one another. In 1971, secret, high-level contacts began
to be conducted culminating in the 1972 July 4th North-South Joint
Statement that established principles of working toward peaceful
reunification. The talks ultimately failed because in 1973, South
Korea declared its preference that the two Koreas should seek separate
memberships in international organizations.

During the 1956
August Faction Incident ,
Kim Il-sung successfully
resisted efforts by the
Soviet Union and
China to depose him in favor
of Soviet
Koreans or the pro-Chinese Yan\'an faction . The last
Chinese troops withdrew from the country in October 1958, which is the
consensus as the latest date when North
Korea became effectively
independent. Some scholars believe that the 1956 August incident
demonstrated independence. North
Korea remained closely aligned to
China and the Soviet Union, and the
Sino-Soviet split allowed Kim to
play the powers off each other. North
Korea sought to become a leader
of the
Non-Aligned Movement , and emphasized the ideology of _
Juche _
to distinguish it from both the
Soviet Union and China.

Recovery from the war was quick — by 1957 industrial production
reached 1949 levels. In 1959, relations with
Japan had improved
somewhat, and North
Korea began allowing the repatriation of Japanese
citizens in the country. The same year, North
Korea revalued the North
Korean won , which held greater value than its South Korean
counterpart. Until the 1960s, economic growth was higher than in South
Korea, and North Korean GDP per capita was equal to that of its
southern neighbor as late as 1976.

In the early 1970s,
China began normalizing its relations with the
West, particularly the U.S., and reevaluating its relations with North
Korea. The diplomatic problems came to a head in 1976 when Mao Zedong
died. In response,
Kim Il-sung began severing ties with
China and
reemphasizing national and economic self-reliance enshrined in his
_Juche_ Idea, which promoted producing everything within the country.
By the 1980s the economy had begun to stagnate; it started its long
decline in 1987 and almost completely collapsed after the dissolution
of the
Soviet Union in 1991, when all Russian aid was suddenly halted.
The North began reestablishing trade relations with
China shortly
thereafter, but the Chinese could not afford to provide enough food
aid to meet demand.

In 1992, as Kim Il-sung's health began deteriorating, Kim Jong-il
slowly began taking over various state tasks.
Kim Il-sung died of a
heart attack in 1994 , in the midst of a standoff with the United
States over North Korean nuclear weapon development . Kim declared a
three-year period of national mourning before officially announcing
his position as the new leader.

Kim Jong-il instituted a policy called _
Songun _, or "military
first". There is much speculation about this policy being used as a
strategy to strengthen the military while discouraging coup attempts.
Restrictions on travel were tightened and the state security apparatus
was strengthened.

Flooding in the mid-1990s exacerbated the economic crisis, severely
damaging crops and infrastructure and led to widespread famine which
the government proved incapable of curtailing. In 1996, the government
accepted UN food aid. Since the outbreak of the famine, the government
has reluctantly tolerated illegal black markets while officially
maintaining a state socialist economy. Corruption flourished and
disillusionment with the regime spread.

21ST CENTURY

North
Koreans bowing in front of the statues of Kim Il-sung
(left) and
Kim Jong-il at the Mansudae Grand Monument

The international environment changed with the election of U.S.
president
George W. Bush in 2001. His administration rejected South
Korea's
Sunshine Policy and the Agreed Framework. The U.S. government
treated North
Korea as a rogue state , while they subsequently
redoubled their efforts to acquire nuclear weapons in order to avoid
the fate of
Iraq . On 9 October 2006, North
Korea announced it had
conducted its first nuclear weapons test .

In August 2009, former U.S. President
Bill Clinton met with Kim
Jong-il to secure the release of two American journalists who had been
sentenced for entering the country illegally.
U.S. president Barack
Obama 's position towards North
Korea was to resist making deals with
them for the sake of defusing tension, a policy known as "strategic
patience." Tensions with
South Korea and the
United States increased
in 2010 with the sinking of the South Korean warship _Cheonan_ and
North Korea's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island .

On 17 December 2011, the supreme leader of North
Korea Kim Jong-il
died from a heart attack . His youngest son
Kim Jong-un was announced
as his successor. Over the following years, North
Korea continued to
develop its nuclear arsenal despite international condemnation.
Notable tests were performed in 2013 and 2016 . On 4 July 2017, North
Korea successfully conducted its first test of an intercontinental
ballistic missile (ICBM ), named
Hwasong-14 .

Early European visitors to
Korea remarked that the country resembled
"a sea in a heavy gale" because of the many successive mountain ranges
that crisscross the peninsula. Some 80 percent of North
Korea is
composed of mountains and uplands, separated by deep and narrow
valleys. All of the Korean Peninsula's mountains with elevations of
2,000 meters (6,600 ft) or more are located in North Korea. The
highest point in North
Korea is
Paektu Mountain , a volcanic mountain
with an elevation of 2,744 meters (9,003 ft) above sea level. Paektu
is very significant in Korean culture, in which it is considered a
sacred place by the Korean people and is thus incorporated in the
elaborate folklore around the Kim dynasty. Other prominent ranges are
the Hamgyong Range in the extreme northeast and the Rangrim Mountains
, which are located in the north-central part of North Korea. Mount
Kumgang in the Taebaek Range , which extends into South Korea, is
famous for its scenic beauty.

The coastal plains are wide in the west and discontinuous in the
east. A great majority of the population lives in the plains and
lowlands. According to a
United Nations Environmental Programme report
in 2003, forest covers over 70 percent of the country, mostly on steep
slopes. The longest river is the
Amnok (Yalu) River which flows for
790 kilometres (491 mi).

North
Korea experiences a combination of continental climate and an
oceanic climate , but most of the country experiences a humid
continental climate within the
Köppen climate classification scheme.
Winters bring clear weather interspersed with snow storms as a result
of northern and northwestern winds that blow from
Siberia . Summer
tends to be by far the hottest, most humid, and rainiest time of year
because of the southern and southeastern monsoon winds that carry
moist air from the
Pacific Ocean . Approximately 60 percent of all
precipitation occurs from June to September. Spring and autumn are
transitional seasons between summer and winter. The daily average high
and low temperatures for
Pyongyang are −3 and −13 °C (27 and 9
°F) in January and 29 and 20 °C (84 and 68 °F) in August.

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

Main article: Administrative divisions of North
Korea See also:
Provinces of
Korea ,
Special cities of North
Korea , and List of
cities in North
Korea

_
THIS SECTION NEEDS EXPANSION. You can help by adding to it . (July
2017)_

The Constitution of the
Republic of
Korea considers the DPRK as part
of its territory. In other words, the South does not view going to
and from the North as breaking the continuity of a citizens visit, as
long as the traveler does not land on a third territory. Because of
the political situation between the South and North, it is almost
impossible to enter the North from the South across the Korean DMZ
(exiting
South Korea via the northern border). Tourists wishing to
enter North
Korea have to pass through another country, and most enter
from
China , because most flights to/from
Pyongyang serve
Beijing .

Initially, North
Korea had diplomatic ties with only other communist
countries. In the 1960s and 1970s, it pursued an independent foreign
policy, established relations with many developing countries, and
joined the
Non-Aligned Movement . In the late 1980s and the 1990s its
foreign policy was thrown into turmoil with the collapse of the Soviet
bloc . Suffering an economic crisis, it closed a number of its
embassies. At the same time, North
Korea sought to build relations
with developed free market countries. As a result of its isolation,
it is sometimes known as the "hermit kingdom ", a term that was
originally referred to the isolationism in the latter part of the
Joseon Dynasty .

As of 2015 , North
Korea had diplomatic relations with 166 countries
and embassies in 47 countries. North
Korea continues to have strong
ties with its socialist southeast Asian allies in
Vietnam and
Laos ,
as well as with
Cambodia . Most of the foreign embassies accredited
to North
Korea are located in
Beijing rather than in
Pyongyang . The
Korean Demilitarized Zone with
South Korea is the most heavily
fortified border in the world. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
meeting with Russian President Putin, 19 July 2000 U.S.
Secretary of Defense
William Cohen , left, meets with Jo Myong Rok,
second from right, first vice-chairman of North Korea's National
Defense Commission, 11 October 2000

As a result of the
North Korean nuclear weapons program , the
Six-Party Talks were established to find a peaceful solution to the
growing tension between the two Korean governments, Russia, China,
Japan, and the United States. North
Korea was previously designated a
state sponsor of terrorism because of its alleged involvement in the
1983
Rangoon bombing and the 1987 bombing of a South Korean airliner .
On 11 October 2008, the
United States removed North
Korea from its
list of states that sponsor terrorism after
Pyongyang agreed to
cooperate on issues related to its nuclear program. The kidnapping of
at least 13 Japanese citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and
the 1980s was another issue in the country's foreign policy.

North Korea's policy is to seek reunification without what it sees as
outside interference, through a federal structure retaining each
side's leadership and systems. In 2000, both North and South Korea
signed the
June 15th North–South Joint Declaration in which both
sides made promises to seek out a peaceful reunification. The
Democratic Federal
Republic of
Korea is a proposed state first
mentioned by then North Korean president
Kim Il-sung on 10 October
1980, proposing a federation between North and
South Korea in which
the respective political systems would initially remain. South
Korean aid convoy entering North
Korea through the Demilitarized Zone,
1998

Inter-Korean relations are at the core of North Korean diplomacy and
have seen numerous shifts in the last few decades. In 1972, the two
Koreas agreed in principle to achieve reunification through peaceful
means and without foreign interference. Relations remained cool well
until the early 1990s, with a brief period in the early 1980s when
North
Korea offered to provide flood relief to its southern neighbor.
Although the offer was initially welcomed, talks over how to deliver
the relief goods broke down and none of the promised aid ever crossed
the border. The two countries also organized a reunion of 92
separated families.

The
Sunshine Policy instituted by South Korean president Kim Dae-jung
in 1998 was a watershed in inter-Korean relations. It encouraged other
countries to engage with the North, which allowed
Pyongyang to
normalize relations with a number of European Union states and
contributed to the establishment of joint North-South economic
projects. The culmination of the
Sunshine Policy was the 2000
Inter-Korean Summit , when
Kim Dae-jung visited
Kim Jong-il in
Pyongyang. On 4 October 2007, South Korean president
Roh Moo-hyun and
Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point peace agreement.

Relations worsened in the late 2000s and early 2010s when South
Korean president
Lee Myung-bak adopted a more hard-line approach and
suspended aid deliveries pending the de-nuclearization of the North.
North
Korea responded by ending all of its previous agreements with
the South. It deployed additional ballistic missiles and placed its
military on full combat alert after South Korea,
Japan and the United
States threatened to intercept a
Unha-2 space launch vehicle. The
next few years witnessed a string of hostilities, including the
alleged North Korean involvement in the sinking of South Korean
warship _Cheonan_ , mutual ending of diplomatic ties, a North Korean
artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island , and growing international
concern over North Korea's nuclear program.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Main article:
Human rights in North
Korea See also: Prisons in North
Korea Pukchang
Chongjin Hoeryong Hwasong Kaechon
Yodok A map of political prison camps in North Korea. An
estimated 40% of prisoners die of malnutrition.

North
Korea is widely accused of having one of the worst human rights
records in the world. North
Koreans have been referred to as "some of
the world's most brutalized people" by
Human Rights Watch , because of
the severe restrictions placed on their political and economic
freedoms . The North Korean population is strictly managed by the
state and all aspects of daily life are subordinated to party and
state planning. Employment is managed by the party on the basis of
political reliability, and travel is tightly controlled by the
Ministry of People's Security.

Amnesty International reports of severe restrictions on the freedom
of association, expression and movement, arbitrary detention, torture
and other ill-treatment resulting in death, and executions. North
Korea applies capital punishment , including public executions . Human
rights organizations estimate that 1,193 executions had been carried
out in the country as of 2009.

The
State Security Department extrajudicially apprehends and
imprisons those accused of political crimes without due process.
People perceived as hostile to the government, such as Christians or
critics of the leadership, are deported to labor camps without trial,
often with their whole family and mostly without any chance of being
released.

Based on satellite images and defector testimonies, Amnesty
International estimates that around 200,000 prisoners are held in six
large political prison camps, where they are forced to work in
conditions approaching slavery. Supporters of the government who
deviate from the government line are subject to reeducation in
sections of labor camps set aside for that purpose. Those who are
deemed politically rehabilitated may reassume responsible government
positions on their release.

North Korean defectors have provided detailed testimonies on the
existence of the total control zones where abuses such as torture,
starvation, rape, murder, medical experimentation , forced labor, and
forced abortions have been reported. On the basis of these abuses, as
well as persecution on political, religious, racial and gender
grounds, forcible transfer of populations, enforced disappearance of
persons and forced starvation, the
United Nations Commission of
Inquiry has accused North
Korea of crimes against humanity . The
International Coalition to Stop Crimes Against Humanity in North Korea
(ICNK) estimates that over 10,000 people die in North Korean prison
camps every year.

The North Korean government rejects the human rights abuses claims,
calling them "a smear campaign" and a "human rights racket" aimed at
regime change. In a report to the UN, North
Korea dismissed
accusations of atrocities as "wild rumors". The government admitted
some human rights issues related to living conditions and stated that
it is working to improve them.

North
Korea functions as a highly centralized, one-party republic.
According to its 2009 constitution , it is a self-described
revolutionary and socialist state "guided in its activities by the
Juche idea and the
Songun idea". The Workers\' Party of
Korea (WPK)
has an estimated 3,000,000 members and dominates every aspect of North
Korean politics. It has two satellite organizations, the Korean Social
Democratic Party and the
Chondoist Chongu Party which participate in
the WPK-led
Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland .
Another highly influential structure is the independent State Affairs
Commission (SAC).
Kim Jong-un of the Kim family heads all major
governing structures: he is First Secretary of the WPK, Chairman of
the
State Affairs Commission of North
Korea , and Supreme Commander of
the Korean People\'s Army .
Kim Il-sung , who died in 1994, is the
country's "
Eternal President ", while
Kim Jong-il was announced
"Eternal General Secretary" after his death in 2011.

The unicameral Supreme People\'s Assembly (SPA) is the highest organ
of state authority and holds the legislative power . Its 687 members
are elected every five years by universal suffrage . Supreme People's
Assembly sessions are convened by the SPA Presidium, whose president
(
Kim Yong-nam since 1998) represents the state in relations with
foreign countries. Deputies formally elect the President, the
vice-presidents and members of the Presidium and take part in the
constitutionally appointed activities of the legislature: pass laws,
establish domestic and foreign policies, appoint members of the
cabinet, review and approve the state economic plan, among others.
The SPA itself cannot initiate any legislation independently of party
or state organs. It is unknown whether it has ever criticized or
amended bills placed before it, and the elections are based around a
single list of WPK-approved candidates who stand without opposition.

Executive power is vested in the Cabinet of North
Korea , which is
headed by Premier
Pak Pong-ju . The Premier represents the government
and functions independently. His authority extends over two
vice-premiers, 30 ministers , two cabinet commission chairmen, the
cabinet chief secretary, the president of the Central Bank , the
director of the Central Bureau of Statistics and the president of the
Academy of Sciences . A 31st ministry, the Ministry of People\'s Armed
Forces , is under the jurisdiction of the State Affairs Commission.

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY

Further information:
Juche _ The Juche_ Tower in
Pyongyang is
dedicated to the _
Juche _ ideology.

The _
Juche _ ideology is the cornerstone of party works and
government operations. It is viewed by the official North Korean line
as an embodiment of Kim Il-sung's wisdom, an expression of his
leadership, and an idea which provides "a complete answer to any
question that arises in the struggle for national liberation".
_Juche_ was pronounced in December 1955 in order to emphasize a
Korea-centered revolution. Its core tenets are economic
self-sufficiency , military self-reliance and an independent foreign
policy. The roots of _Juche_ were made up of a complex mixture of
factors, including the cult of personality centered on Kim Il-sung,
the conflict with pro-Soviet and pro-Chinese dissenters, and Korea's
centuries-long struggle for independence.

It was initially promoted as a "creative application" of
Marxism–Leninism , but in the mid-1970s, it was described by state
propaganda as "the only scientific thought... and most effective
revolutionary theoretical structure that leads to the future of
communist society". _Juche_ eventually replaced Marxism–Leninism
entirely by the 1980s, and in 1992 references to the latter were
omitted from the constitution. The 2009 constitution dropped
references to communism, but retained references to socialism.
_Juche_'s concepts of self-reliance have evolved with time and
circumstances, but still provide the groundwork for the spartan
austerity, sacrifice and discipline demanded by the party.

Some observers have described North Korea's political system as an
absolute monarchy or a "hereditary dictatorship". Scholar Brian
Reynolds Myers views its actual ideology as a Korean ethnic
nationalism similar to statism in Shōwa
Japan and European fascism .

The North Korean government exercises control over many aspects of
the nation's culture, and this control is used to perpetuate a cult of
personality surrounding Kim Il-sung, and Kim Jong-il. While visiting
North
Korea in 1979, journalist Bradley Martin wrote that nearly all
music, art, and sculpture that he observed glorified "Great Leader"
Kim Il-sung, whose personality cult was then being extended to his
son, "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il. Martin reported that there is even
widespread belief that
Kim Il-sung "created the world", and Kim
Jong-il could "control the weather".

Such reports are contested by North
Korea researcher B. R. Myers :
"Divine powers have never been attributed to either of the two Kims.
In fact, the propaganda apparatus in
Pyongyang has generally been
careful _not_ to make claims that run directly counter to citizens'
experience or common sense." He further explains that the state
propaganda painted
Kim Jong-il as someone whose expertise lay in
military matters and that the famine of the 1990s was partially caused
by natural disasters out of Kim Jong-il's control.

The song "
No Motherland Without You ", sung by the North Korean army
choir , was created especially for
Kim Jong-il and is one of the most
popular tunes in the country.
Kim Il-sung is still officially revered
as the nation's "
Eternal President ". Several landmarks in North Korea
are named for
Kim Il-sung , including
Kim Il-sung University , Kim
Il-sung Stadium , and
Kim Il-sung Square . Defectors have been quoted
as saying that North Korean schools deify both father and son. Kim
Il-sung rejected the notion that he had created a cult around himself,
and accused those who suggested this of "factionalism ". Following
the death of Kim Il-sung, North
Koreans were prostrating and weeping
to a bronze statue of him in an organized event; similar scenes were
broadcast by state television following the death of Kim Jong-il.

Critics maintain this
Kim Jong-il personality cult was inherited from
his father.
Kim Jong-il was often the center of attention throughout
ordinary life. His birthday is one of the most important public
holidays in the country . On his 60th birthday (based on his official
date of birth), mass celebrations occurred throughout the country.
Kim Jong-il's personality cult, although significant, was not as
extensive as his father's. One point of view is that Kim Jong-il's
cult of personality was solely out of respect for
Kim Il-sung or out
of fear of punishment for failure to pay homage. Media and government
sources from outside of North
Korea generally support this view,
while North Korean government sources say that it is genuine hero
worship.

The extent of the cult of personality surrounding
Kim Jong-il and Kim
Il-sung was illustrated on 11 June 2012 when a 14-year-old North
Korean schoolgirl drowned while attempting to rescue portraits of the
two from a flood.

North
Korea has a civil law system based on the Prussian model and
influenced by Japanese traditions and communist legal theory.
Judiciary procedures are handled by the Supreme Court (the highest
court of appeal ), provincial or special city-level courts, people's
courts and special courts. People's courts are at the lowest level of
the system and operate in cities, counties and urban districts, while
different kinds of special courts handle cases related to military,
railroad or maritime matters.

Judges are theoretically elected by their respective local people's
assemblies, but in practice they are appointed by the Workers' Party
of Korea. The penal code is based on the principle of _nullum crimen
sine lege _ (no crime without a law), but remains a tool for political
control despite several amendments reducing ideological influence.
Courts carry out legal procedures related to not only criminal and
civil matters, but also political cases as well. Political prisoners
are sent to labor camps , while criminal offenders are incarcerated in
a separate system.

The Ministry of People\'s Security (MPS) maintains most law
enforcement activities. It is one of the most powerful state
institutions in North
Korea and oversees the national police force,
investigates criminal cases and manages non-political correctional
facilities. It handles other aspects of domestic security like civil
registration, traffic control, fire departments and railroad security.
The
State Security Department was separated from the MPS in 1973 to
conduct domestic and foreign intelligence, counterintelligence and
manage the political prison system. Political camps can be short-term
reeducation zones or "kwalliso " (total control zones) for lifetime
detention. Camp 14 in
Kaechon , Camp 15 in Yodok and Camp 18 in
Bukchang are described in detailed testimonies.

The security apparatus is very extensive, exerting strict control
over residence, travel, employment, clothing, food and family life.
Security establishments employ mass surveillance , tightly monitoring
cellular and digital communications. The MPS, State Security and the
police allegedly conduct real-time monitoring of text messages, online
data transfer, monitor phone calls and automatically transcribe
recorded conversations. They reportedly have the capacity to
triangulate a subscriber's exact location, while military intelligence
monitors phone and radio traffic as far as 140 kilometers (87 miles)
south of the Demilitarized zone.

MILITARY

Main article: Korean People\'s Army See also: North
Korea and
weapons of mass destruction and
Songun Korean People\'s Army
(KPA) soldiers at
Panmunjom

The Korean People\'s Army (KPA) is North Korea's military
organization. The KPA has 1,106,000 active and 8,389,000 reserve and
paramilitary troops, making it the largest military institution in the
world . About 20 percent of men aged 17–54 serve in the regular
armed forces, and approximately one in every 25 citizens is an
enlisted soldier. The KPA has five branches: Ground Force , Navy ,
Air Force ,
Special Operations Force , and Rocket Force . Command of
the
Korean People's Army lies in both the Central Military Commission
of the Workers\' Party of
Korea and the independent State Affairs
Commission. The Ministry of People\'s Armed Forces is subordinated to
the latter.

Of all KPA branches, the Ground Force is the largest. It has
approximately one million personnel divided into 80 infantry divisions
, 30 artillery brigades , 25 special warfare brigades, 20 mechanized
brigades, 10 tank brigades and seven tank regiments . They are
equipped with 3,700 tanks, 2,100 armoured personnel carriers and
infantry fighting vehicles , 17,900 artillery pieces, 11,000
anti-aircraft guns and some 10,000
MANPADS and anti-tank guided
missiles . Other equipment includes 1,600 aircraft in the Air Force
and 1,000 vessels in the Navy. North
Korea has the largest special
forces and the largest submarine fleet in the world. Ilyushin
Il-76 strategic military airlifter used by
Air Koryo

North
Korea possesses nuclear weapons, but its arsenal remains
limited. Various estimates put its stockpile at less than 10 plutonium
warheads and 12–27 nuclear weapon equivalents if uranium warheads
are considered. Delivery capabilities are provided by the Rocket
Force, which has some 1,000 ballistic missiles with a range of up to
3,000 kilometres.

According to a 2004 South Korean assessment, North
Korea possesses a
stockpile of chemical weapons estimated to amount to 2,500–5,000
tons, including nerve, blister, blood, and vomiting agents, as well as
the ability to cultivate and produce biological weapons including
anthrax , smallpox , and cholera . Because of its nuclear and
missile tests, North
Korea has been sanctioned under United Nations
Security Council resolutions 1695 of July 2006, 1718 of October 2006,
1874 of June 2009, and 2087 of January 2013.

The military faces some issues limiting its conventional
capabilities, including obsolete equipment, insufficient fuel supplies
and a shortage of digital command and control assets due to other
countries being banned from selling weapons to it by the UN sanctions.
To compensate for these deficiencies, the KPA has deployed a wide
range of asymmetric warfare technologies like anti-personnel blinding
lasers,
GPS jammers, midget submarines and human torpedoes ,
stealth paint, electromagnetic pulse bombs, and cyberwarfare units.
In 2015, North
Korea was estimated as having 6,000 sophisticated
computer security personnel. KPA units have attempted to jam South
Korean military satellites .

Much of the equipment is engineered and produced by a domestic
defense industry . Weapons are manufactured in roughly 1,800
underground defense industry plants scattered throughout the country,
most of them located in
Chagang Province . The defense industry is
capable of producing a full range of individual and crew-served
weapons, artillery, armored vehicles, tanks, missiles, helicopters,
surface combatants, submarines, landing and infiltration craft, Yak-18
trainers and possibly co-production of jet aircraft. According to
official North Korean media, military expenditures for 2010 amount to
15.8 percent of the state budget.

With the exception of a small Chinese community and a few ethnic
Japanese , North Korea's 24,852,000 people are ethnically homogeneous.
Demographic experts in the 20th century estimated that the
population would grow to 25.5 million by 2000 and 28 million by 2010,
but this increase never occurred due to the
North Korean famine . It
began in 1995, lasted for three years and resulted in the deaths of
between 240,000 and 420,000 North Koreans.

International donors led by the
United States initiated shipments of
food through the
World Food Program in 1997 to combat the famine.
Despite a drastic reduction of aid under the George W. Bush
Administration , the situation gradually improved: the number of
malnourished children declined from 60% in 1998 to 37% in 2006 and
28% in 2013. Domestic food production almost recovered to the
recommended annual level of 5.37 million tons of cereal equivalent in
2013, but the
World Food Program reported a continuing lack of
dietary diversity and access to fats and proteins.

The famine had a significant impact on the population growth rate,
which declined to 0.9% annually in 2002 and 0.53% in 2014. Late
marriages after military service, limited housing space and long hours
of work or political studies further exhaust the population and reduce
growth. The national birth rate is 14.5 births per year per 1,000
population. Two-thirds of households consist of extended families
mostly living in two-room units.
Marriage is virtually universal and
divorce is extremely rare.

HEALTH

Main article: Health in North
Korea A dental clinic at
Pyongyang Maternity Hospital

North
Korea had a life expectancy of 69.8 years in 2013. While North
Korea is classified as a low-income country, the structure of North
Korea's causes of death (2013) is unlike that of other low-income
countries. Instead, it is closer to worldwide averages, with
non-communicable diseases—such as cardiovascular disease and
cancers—accounting for two-thirds of the total deaths.

A 2013 study reported that communicable diseases and malnutrition are
responsible for 29% of the total deaths in North Korea. This figure is
higher than those of high-income countries and South Korea, but half
of the average 57% of all deaths in other low-income countries.
Infectious diseases like tuberculosis , malaria , and hepatitis B are
considered to be endemic to the country as a result of the famine.

Cardiovascular disease as a single disease group is the largest cause
of death in North
Korea (2013). The three major causes of death in
DPR
Korea are ischaemic heart disease (13%), lower respiratory
infections (11%) and cerebrovascular disease (7%). Non-communicable
diseases risk factors in North
Korea include high rates of
urbanisation, an aging society, and high rates of smoking and alcohol
consumption amongst men.

According to a 2003 report by the
United States Department of State ,
almost 100% of the population has access to water and sanitation. 60%
of the population had access to improved sanitation facilities in
2000.

A free universal insurance system is in place. Quality of medical
care varies significantly by region and is often low, with severe
shortages of equipment, drugs and anaesthetics. According to WHO,
expenditure on health per capita is one of the lowest in the world.
Preventive medicine is emphasized through physical exercise and
sports, nationwide monthly checkups and routine spraying of public
places against disease. Every individual has a lifetime health card
which contains a full medical record.

The 2008 census listed the entire population as literate, including
those in the age group beyond 80. An 11-year free, compulsory cycle
of primary and secondary education is provided in more than 27,000
nursery schools , 14,000 kindergartens , 4,800 four-year primary and
4,700 six-year secondary schools. 77% of males and 79% of females
aged 30–34 have finished secondary school. An additional 300
universities and colleges offer higher education .

Most graduates from the compulsory program do not attend university
but begin their obligatory military service or proceed to work in
farms or factories instead. The main deficiencies of higher education
are the heavy presence of ideological subjects, which comprise 50% of
courses in social studies and 20% in sciences, and the imbalances in
curriculum. The study of natural sciences is greatly emphasized while
social sciences are neglected.
Heuristics is actively applied to
develop the independence and creativity of students throughout the
system. The study of Russian and English was made compulsory in upper
middle schools in 1978.

LANGUAGE

Further information: North–South differences in the Korean language

North
Korea shares the
Korean language with South Korea, although
some dialectal differences exist within both Koreas. North Koreans
refer to their
Pyongyang dialect as _munhwaŏ _ ("cultured language")
as opposed to the dialects of South Korea, especially the Seoul
dialect or _p'yojun'ŏ_ ("standard language"), which are viewed as
decadent because of its use of loanwords from Chinese and European
languages (particularly English ). Words of Chinese, Manchu or
Western origin have been eliminated from _munhwa_ along with the usage
of Chinese hancha characters. Written language uses only the
chosŏn\'gŭl phonetic alphabet, developed under Sejong the Great
(1418–1450).

North
Korea is an atheist state where public religion is discouraged.
There are no known official statistics of religions in North Korea.
According to Religious Intelligence, 64.3% of the population are
irreligious , 16% practice
Korean shamanism , 13.5% practice Chondoism
, 4.5% are Buddhist , and 1.7% are Christian . Freedom of religion
and the right to religious ceremonies are constitutionally guaranteed,
but religions are restricted by the government. Amnesty
International has expressed concerns about religious persecution in
North Korea.

The influence of Buddhism and Confucianism still has an effect on
cultural life. Chondoism ("Heavenly Way") is an indigenous syncretic
belief combining elements of Korean shamanism, Buddhism, Taoism and
Catholicism that is officially represented by the WPK-controlled
Chongu Party .

The
Open Doors mission claims the most severe persecution of
Christians in the world occurs in North Korea. Four state-sanctioned
churches exist, but critics claim these are showcases for foreigners.

FORMAL RANKING OF CITIZENS\' LOYALTY

Further information:
Songbun Sneaker-wearing North Korean
youths walking in
Pyongyang

According to North Korean documents and refugee testimonies, all
North
Koreans are sorted into groups according to their
Songbun , an
ascribed status system based on a citizen's assessed loyalty to the
regime. Based on their own behavior and the political, social, and
economic background of their family for three generations as well as
behavior by relatives within that range,
Songbun is allegedly used to
determine whether an individual is trusted with responsibility, given
opportunities, or even receives adequate food.

Songbun allegedly affects access to educational and employment
opportunities and particularly whether a person is eligible to join
North Korea's ruling party. There are 3 main classifications and
about 50 sub-classifications. According to Kim Il-sung, speaking in
1958, the loyal "core class" constituted 25% of the North Korean
population, the "wavering class" 55%, and the "hostile class" 20%.
The highest status is accorded to individuals descended from those who
participated with
Kim Il-sung in the resistance against Japanese
occupation during and before
World War II and to those who were
factory workers, laborers, or peasants in 1950.

While some analysts believe private commerce recently changed the
Songbun system to some extent, most North Korean refugees say it
remains a commanding presence in everyday life. The North Korean
government claims all citizens are equal and denies any discrimination
on the basis of family background.

North
Korea has maintained one of the most closed and centralized
economies in the world since the 1940s. For several decades it
followed the Soviet pattern of five-year plans with the ultimate goal
of achieving self-sufficiency. Extensive Soviet and Chinese support
allowed North
Korea to rapidly recover from the
Korean War and
register very high growth rates. Systematic inefficiency began to
arise around 1960, when the economy shifted from the extensive to the
intensive development stage. The shortage of skilled labor, energy,
arable land and transportation significantly impeded long-term growth
and resulted in consistent failure to meet planning objectives. The
major slowdown of the economy contrasted with South Korea, which
surpassed the North in terms of absolute GDP and per capita income by
the 1980s. North
Korea declared the last seven-year plan unsuccessful
in December 1993 and thereafter stopped announcing plans. An
industrial plant in
Hamhung

The loss of
Eastern Bloc trading partners and a series of natural
disasters throughout the 1990s caused severe hardships, including
widespread famine . By 2000, the situation improved owing to a massive
international food assistance effort, but the economy continues to
suffer from food shortages, dilapidated infrastructure and a
critically low energy supply. In an attempt to recover from the
collapse, the government began structural reforms in 1998 that
formally legalized private ownership of assets and decentralized
control over production. A second round of reforms in 2002 led to an
expansion of market activities, partial monetization , flexible prices
and salaries, and the introduction of incentives and accountability
techniques. Despite these changes, North
Korea remains a command
economy where the state owns almost all means of production and
development priorities are defined by the government.

North
Korea has the structural profile of a relatively industrialized
country where nearly half of the
Gross Domestic Product is generated
by industry and human development is at medium levels. Purchasing
power parity (PPP) GDP is estimated at $40 billion, with a very low
per capita value of $1,800. In 2012,
Gross national income per capita
was $1,523, compared to $28,430 in South Korea. The North Korean won
is the national currency, issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic
People\'s
Republic of
Korea .

The economy is heavily nationalized. Food and housing are
extensively subsidized by the state; education and healthcare are
free; and the payment of taxes was officially abolished in 1974. A
variety of goods are available in department stores and supermarkets
in Pyongyang, though most of the population relies on small-scale
_jangmadang _ markets. In 2009, the government attempted to stem the
expanding free market by banning jangmadang and the use of foreign
currency, heavily devaluing the won and restricting the
convertibility of savings in the old currency, but the resulting
inflation spike and rare public protests caused a reversal of these
policies. Private trade is dominated by women because most men are
required to be present at their workplace, even though many
state-owned enterprises are non-operational. Foreign tourists in
Masikryong Ski Resort

Industry and services employ 65% of North Korea's 12.6 million labor
force. Major industries include machine building, military equipment,
chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing and tourism.
Iron ore and coal production are among the few sectors where North
Korea performs significantly better than its southern neighbor – it
produces about 10 times larger amounts of each resource. The
agricultural sector was shattered by the natural disasters of the
1990s. Its 3,500 cooperatives and state farms were among the most
productive and successful in the world around 1980 but now experience
chronic fertilizer and equipment shortages. Rice, corn, soybeans and
potatoes are some of the primary crops. A significant contribution to
the food supply comes from commercial fishing and aquaculture .
Tourism has been a growing sector for the past decade. North Korea
aims to increase the number of foreign visitors from 200,000 to one
million by 2016 through projects like the
Masikryong Ski Resort .

Foreign trade surpassed pre-crisis levels in 2005 and continues to
expand. North
Korea has a number of special economic zones (SEZs) and
Special Administrative Regions where foreign companies can operate
with tax and tariff incentives while North Korean establishments gain
access to improved technology. Initially four such zones existed, but
they yielded little overall success. The SEZ system was overhauled in
2013 when 14 new zones were opened and the
RasonSpecial Economic Zone
was reformed as a joint Chinese-North Korean project. The Kaesong
Industrial Region is a special economic zone where more than 100 South
Korean companies employ some 52,000 North Korean workers. Outside
inter-Korean trade, more than 89% of external trade is conducted with
China.
Russia is the second-largest foreign partner with $100 million
worth of imports and exports for the same year. In 2014,
Russia wrote
off 90% of North Korea's debt and the two countries agreed to conduct
all transactions in rubles . Overall, external trade in 2013 reached
a total of $7.3 billion (the highest amount since 1990 ), while
inter-Korean trade dropped to an eight-year low of $1.1 billion.

North Korea's energy infrastructure is obsolete and in disrepair.
Power shortages are chronic and would not be alleviated even by
electricity imports because the poorly maintained grid causes
significant losses during transmission.
Coal accounts for 70% of
primary energy production, followed by hydroelectric power with 17%.
The government under
Kim Jong-un has increased emphasis on renewable
energy projects like wind farms, solar parks, solar heating and
biomass . A set of legal regulations adopted in 2014 stressed the
development of geothermal, wind and solar energy along with recycling
and environmental conservation. North Korea's long-term objective is
to curb fossil fuel usage and reach an output of 5 million kilowatts
from renewable sources by 2044, up from its current total of 430,000
kilowatts from all sources. Wind power is projected to satisfy 15% of
the country's total energy demand under this strategy.

North
Korea also strives to develop its own civilian nuclear program.
These efforts are under much international dispute due to their
military applications and concerns about safety. Russian energy
company
Gazprom has a project for a $2.5 billion gas pipeline to South
Korea through Pyongyang, which is expected to generate an annual
revenue of $100 million from transit fees. A Soviet-built M62
diesel unit at
Pyongyang Station
Tupolev Tu-204 of Air Koryo
over Vladivostok Airport

Transport infrastructure includes railways, highways, water and air
routes, but rail transport is by far the most widespread. North Korea
has some 5,200 kilometres of railways mostly in standard gauge which
carry 80% of annual passenger traffic and 86% of freight, but
electricity shortages undermine their efficiency. Construction of a
high-speed railway connecting Kaesong,
Pyongyang and
Sinuiju with
speeds exceeding 200 km/h was approved in 2013. North
Korea connects
with the
Trans-Siberian Railway through
Rajin .

Road transport is very limited — only 724 kilometers of the 25,554
kilometer road network are paved, and maintenance on most roads is
poor. Only 2% of the freight capacity is supported by river and sea
transport, and air traffic is negligible. All port facilities are
ice-free and host a merchant fleet of 158 vessels. Eighty-two
airports and 23 helipads are operational and the largest serve the
state-run airline,
Air Koryo . Cars are relatively rare, but bicycles
are common.

Under its "constructing a powerful knowledge economy " slogan, the
state has launched a project to concentrate education, scientific
research and production into a number of "high-tech development
zones". International sanctions remain a significant obstacle to their
development. The _Miraewon_ network of electronic libraries was
established in 2014 under similar slogans.

Significant resources have been allocated to the national space
program, which is managed by the National Aerospace Development
Administration (formerly managed by the Korean Committee of Space
Technology until April 2013) Domestically produced launch vehicles
and the Kwangmyŏngsŏng satellite class are launched from two
spaceports , the
Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and the Sohae
Satellite Launching Station . After four failed attempts, North Korea
became the tenth spacefaring nation with the launch of
Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 in December 2012, which successfully reached
orbit but was believed to be crippled and non-operational. It joined
the
Outer Space Treaty in 2009 and has stated its intentions to
undertake manned and Moon missions . The government insists the space
program is for peaceful purposes, but the United States, Japan, South
Korea and other countries maintain that it serves to advance military
ballistic missile programs.

On 7 February 2016, North
Korea successfully launched a long-range
rocket, supposedly to place a satellite into orbit. Critics believe
that the real purpose of the launch was to test a ballistic missile .
The launch was strongly condemned by the UN Security Council . A
statement broadcast on
Korean Central Television said that a new Earth
observation satellite, Kwangmyongsong-4 , had successfully been put
into orbit less than 10 minutes after lift-off from the Sohae space
centre in North Phyongan province .

Usage of communication technology is controlled by the Ministry of
Post and Telecommunications . An adequate nationwide fiber-optic
telephone system with 1.18 million fixed lines and expanding mobile
coverage is in place. Most phones are installed for senior government
officials and installation requires written explanation why the user
needs a telephone and how it will be paid for. Cellular coverage is
available with a 3G network operated by
Koryolink , a joint venture
with
Orascom Telecom Holding . The number of subscribers has
increased from 3,000 in 2002 to almost two million in 2013.
International calls through either fixed or cellular service are
restricted, and mobile
Internet is not available.

Internet access itself is limited to a handful of elite users and
scientists. Instead, North
Korea has a walled garden intranet system
called Kwangmyong , which is maintained and monitored by the Korea
Computer Center . Its content is limited to state media, chat
services, message boards, an e-mail service and an estimated
1,000–5,500 websites. Computers employ the
Red Star OS , an
operating system derived from
Linux , with a user shell visually
similar to that of
OS X . On 19 September 2016, a TLDR project
noticed the North Korean
Internet DNS data and top-level domain was
left open which allowed global DNS zone transfers. A dump of the data
discovered was shared on
GitHub .

CULTURE

Main article: Culture of North
Korea See also: Culture of
KoreaPyohunsa Buddhist Temple, a National Treasure of North
Korea

Despite a historically strong Chinese influence, Korean culture has
shaped its own unique identity. It came under attack during the
Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945, when
Japan enforced a cultural
assimilation policy.
Koreans were encouraged to learn and speak
Japanese, adopt the Japanese family name system and
Shinto religion,
and were forbidden to write or speak the
Korean language in schools,
businesses, or public places.

After the peninsula was divided in 1945, two distinct cultures formed
out of the common Korean heritage. North
Koreans have little exposure
to foreign influence. The revolutionary struggle and the brilliance
of the leadership are some of the main themes in art. "Reactionary"
elements from traditional culture have been discarded and cultural
forms with a "folk" spirit have been reintroduced.

Korean heritage is protected and maintained by the state. Over 190
historical sites and objects of national significance are cataloged as
National Treasures of North
Korea , while some 1,800 less valuable
artifacts are included in a list of Cultural Assets . The Historic
Sites and Monuments in
Kaesong and the Complex of
Goguryeo Tombs are
UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

Visual arts are generally produced in the aesthetics of Socialist
realism . North
Korean painting combines the influence of Soviet and
Japanese visual expression to instill a sentimental loyalty to the
system. All artists in North
Korea are required to join the Artists'
Union, and the best among them can receive an official licence to
portray the leaders. Portraits and sculptures depicting Kim Il-sung,
Kim Jong-il and
Kim Jong-un are classed as "Number One works".

Most aspects of art have been dominated by
Mansudae Art Studio since
its establishment in 1959. It employs around 1,000 artists in what is
likely the biggest art factory in the world where paintings, murals ,
posters and monuments are designed and produced. The studio has
commercialized its activity and sells its works to collectors in a
variety of countries including China, where it is in high demand.
Mansudae Overseas Projects is a subdivision of Mansudae Art Studio
that carries out construction of large-scale monuments for
international customers. Some of the projects include the African
Renaissance Monument in
Senegal , and the Heroes\' Acre in
Namibia .

_
"Song of Comradeship" performed by the KPA State Chorus
-------------------------
"Let us Dash towards the Future" performed by
Moranbong Band
-------------------------

Problems playing these files? See media help ._

The government emphasized optimistic folk-based tunes and
revolutionary music throughout most of the 20th century. Ideological
messages are conveyed through massive orchestral pieces like the "Five
Great Revolutionary Operas " based on traditional Korean _ch\'angguk
_. Revolutionary operas differ from their Western counterparts by
adding traditional instruments to the orchestra and avoiding
recitative segments. _
Sea of Blood _ is the most widely performed of
the Five Great Operas: since its premiere in 1971, it has been played
over 1,500 times, and its 2010 tour in
China was a major success.
Western classical music by Brahms , Tchaikovsky , Stravinsky and other
composers is performed both by the State Symphony Orchestra and
student orchestras.

Pop music appeared in the 1980s with the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble
and
Wangjaesan Light Music Band . Improved relations with South Korea
following the
Inter-Korean Summit caused a decline in direct
ideological messages in pop songs, but themes like comradeship,
nostalgia and the construction of a powerful country remained. Today,
the all-girl
Moranbong Band is the most popular group in the country.
North
Koreans have also been exposed to
K-pop which spreads through
illegal markets.

Unlike the former Soviet Union, no literary underground exists and
there are no known dissident writers. All publishing houses are owned
by the government or the WPK because they are considered an important
tool for propaganda and agitation . The Workers\' Party of Korea
Publishing House is the most authoritative among them and publishes
all works of
Kim Il-sung , ideological education materials and party
policy documents. The availability of foreign literature is limited,
examples being North Korean editions of Indian , German, Chinese and
Russian fairy tales, _
Tales from Shakespeare _ and some works of
Bertolt Brecht and
Erich Kästner .

Kim Il-sung's personal works are considered "classical masterpieces"
while the ones created under his instruction are labeled "models of
_Juche_ literature". These include _The Fate of a Self-Defense Corps
Man_, _The Song of Korea_ and _Immortal History_, a series of
historical novels depicting the suffering of
Koreans under Japanese
occupation. More than four million literary works were published
between the 1980s and the early 2000s, but almost all of them belong
to a narrow variety of political genres like "army-first revolutionary
literature".

Science fiction is considered a secondary genre because it somewhat
departs from the traditional standards of detailed descriptions and
metaphors of the leader. The exotic settings of the stories give
authors more freedom to depict cyberwarfare , violence , sexual abuse
and crime , which are absent in other genres. Sci-fi works glorify
technology and promote the
Juche concept of anthropocentric existence
through depictions of robotics , space exploration and immortality .

Government policies towards film are no different than those applied
to other arts—motion pictures serve to fulfill the targets of
"social education". Some of the most influential films are based on
historic events (_An Jung-geun shoots Itō Hirobumi _) or folk tales
(_Hong Gildong _). Most movies have predictable propaganda story
lines which make cinema an unpopular entertainment. Viewers only see
films that feature their favorite actors. Western productions are
only available at private showings to high-ranking Party members,
although the 1997 _Titanic _ is frequently shown to university
students as an example of Western culture. Access to foreign media
products is available through smuggled DVDs and television or radio
broadcasts in border areas.

North Korean media are under some of the strictest government control
in the world. Freedom of the press in 2017 was 180th out of 180
countries in
Reporters Without Borders ' annual
Press Freedom Index .
According to
Freedom House , all media outlets serve as government
mouthpieces, all journalists are Party members and listening to
foreign broadcasts carries the threat of a death penalty. The main
news provider is the
Korean Central News Agency . All 12 newspapers
and 20 periodicals, including _
Rodong Sinmun _, are published in the
capital.

There are three state-owned TV stations. Two of them broadcast only
on weekends and the
Korean Central Television is on air every day in
the evenings.
Uriminzokkiri and its associated
YouTube and Twitter
accounts distribute imagery, news and video issued by government
media. The
Associated Press opened the first Western all-format,
full-time bureau in
Pyongyang in 2012.

Bias in reporting on North
Korea has occurred in international media
as a result of the country's isolation. Stories like Kim Jong-un
undergoing surgery to look like his grandfather, executing his
ex-girlfriend or feeding his uncle to a pack of hungry dogs have been
circulated by foreign media as truth despite the lack of a credible
source. Many of the claims originate from the South Korean right-wing
newspaper _
The Chosun Ilbo _. Max Fischer of _
The Washington Post _
has written that "almost any story is treated as broadly credible, no
matter how outlandish or thinly sourced". Occasional deliberate
disinformation on the part of North Korean establishments further
complicates the issue.

Korean cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political
change. Originating from ancient agricultural and nomadic traditions
in southern
Manchuria and the
Korean peninsula , it has gone through a
complex interaction of the natural environment and different cultural
trends.
Rice dishes and kimchi are staple Korean food. In a
traditional meal, they accompany both side dishes (_panch\'an _) and
main courses like _juk _, _pulgogi _ or noodles . _
Soju _ liquor is
the best-known traditional Korean spirit.

North Korea's most famous restaurant,
Okryu-gwan , located in
Pyongyang, is known for its _raengmyeon _ cold noodles. Other dishes
served there include gray mullet soup with boiled rice, beef rib soup
, green bean pancake, _sinsollo _ and dishes made from terrapin .
Okryu-gwan sends research teams into the countryside to collect data
on
Korean cuisine and introduce new recipes. Some Asian cities host
branches of the
Pyongyang restaurant chain where waitresses perform
music and dance.

Most schools have daily practice in association football , basketball
, table tennis , gymnastics , boxing and others. The DPR
Korea League
is popular inside the country and its games are often televised. The
national football team, _Chollima _, competed in the
FIFA World Cup in
2010 , when it lost all three matches against Brazil , Portugal and
Ivory Coast . Its 1966 appearance was much more successful, seeing a
surprise 1–0 victory over Italy and a quarter final loss to Portugal
by 3–5. A national team represents the nation in international
basketball competitions as well. In December 2013, former American
basketball professional
Dennis Rodman visited North
Korea to help
train the national team after he developed a friendship with Kim
Jong-un. A scene from the 2012
Arirang Festival

North Korea's first appearance in the
Olympics came in 1964 . The
1972
Olympics saw its summer games debut and five medals, including
one gold. With the exception of the boycotted Los Angeles and Seoul
Olympics , North Korean athletes have won medals in all summer games
since then.
WeightlifterKim Un-guk broke the world record of the
Men\'s 62 kg category at the 2012 Summer
Olympics in
London .
Successful Olympians receive luxury apartments from the state in
recognition for their achievements.

The
Arirang Festival has been recognized by the Guinness World
Records as the biggest choreographic event in the world. Some 100,000
athletes perform rhythmic gymnastics and dances while another 40,000
participants create a vast animated screen in the background. The
event is an artistic representation of the country's history and pays
homage to
Kim Il-sung and
Kim Jong-il . Rungrado 1st of May Stadium
, the largest stadium in the world with its capacity of 150,000, hosts
the Festival. The
Pyongyang Marathon is another notable sports
event. It is a IAAF Bronze Label Race where amateur runners from
around the world can participate.

* ^
Kim Jong-un holds four concurrent positions: Chairman of the
Workers\' Party , Chairman of the Central Military Commission ,
Chairman of the
State Affairs Commission and Supreme Commander of the
People\'s Army , serving as the "supreme leader" of the DPRK.
* ^
Kim Yong-nam is the "head of state for foreign affairs". The
position of president (formerly head of state) was written out of the
constitution in 1998.
Kim Il-sung , who died in 1994, was given the
appellation "
Eternal President " in its preamble.

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